A few days back while using Google search, I was a bit overwhelmed by the deluge of useless links I was getting in my search results. This set me thinking - Is there an alternative to Google search ? Can I get what I wanted easily without plowing through hundreds of useless links ?
My research for a good alternative to Google Search led me to a nice search engine called DuckDuckGo. While the name needs some getting used to, I found DuckDuckGo to offer a superior search experience with lots of refinements to boot.

Less Ads in your search results - DuckDuckGo even provides options to turn off advertising all together.

Social Networking Integration - You can embed your twitter account in the DuckDuckGo home page. See this example.

Format your search results - You can change the font size, color, placement and more to suit your tastes.

Use the !(bang) operator to search popular websites - And there are a whole lot of them to choose from.

DuckDuckGo allows you to perform calculations, conversion of units, find important dates associated with events, facts, finance, nutrition, and is even location aware. Check out the full list of goodies offered by DuckDuckGo.

Use shorter domain name instead of the lengthier one. For example, you can use http://ddg.gg instead of https://Duckduckgo.com and it will redirect you to its encrypted search page.

DuckDuckGo also provides web masters like this blog author, code to embed a search box on their website thus making it easier to provide site specific search results. (As an example, check out the top left corner of this blog).

DuckDuckGo has developed apps (applications) for Apple's iPhone; Android; widgets for Mac/Windows; plugins for Firefox, IE, Opera, Chrome, and Safari; and many others.

It is clear that the unique selling point of DuckDuckGo search engine is its long-term value-adds such as - having way more instant answers, way less spam, real privacy and a better overall search experience.

What I like about DuckDuckGo

More relevant search results.

A potential time saver - Less spam means more time saved in finding information.

Powerful customization of search interface.

If you are on the lookout for a viable Google Search alternative, give DuckDuckGo a try. You might even make a potential search convert.